Apparatus for heating oil and other fluid media



June 3, 1947. 1 HYNES 2,421,562

APPARATUS FOR HEATING OIL AND OTHER FLUID MEDIA Filed May 10, 1944 Xi Ia, gwucwtm' 10:5 3 f i efi/ifynes Patented June 3, 1947 APPARATUS FORHEATING OIL AND OTHER FLUID MEDIA Lee P. Hynes, Haddonfield, N. J.Application May 10, 1944, Serial No. 534,975

13 Claims. 1

This invention is an apparatus for heating a body of circulating fluidmedium.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a simple heatingapparatus in which the medium to be heated, in the form of a more orless flat stream, is caused to travel in a continuous circulation courseover the entire area of the exposed heating surface. A further object isto provide a heater of the character mentioned so constructed andarranged as to provide for ready access to the interior of the heatingchamber, without the necessity of removing the heat exchange units orthe heating elements associated therewith. Another object is to providesimple and effective means for supporting the heat exchange units insuch manner as to provide a maximum of heating area, and at all timesand under all conditions of operation, to protect the terminals of theheater elements associated therewith from direct contact with the fluidmedium being treated. An additional object is to provide heater elementswhich may be readily detached from the heat exchange units so thatrepairs and replacements may be made without disturbing said units.

The invention will be hereinafter fully set forth and particularlypointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure l is atop plan view illustrating a heater constructed inaccordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view on the line 2-2, Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view on the line 3-3, Figure1.

Figure 4 is a detail view illustrating the arrangement of the baffleplate structure.

Figure 5 is a detail sectional view illustrating a modified means ofsupporting the heat exchange members.

Figure 6 is a sectional view illustrating a slight modification.

Referring to the drawing, l designates a U shaped casing having theedges of its open side welded to a metal frame I I. Said frame isprovided with a cut-out portion l2, which is normally closed by a coverplate l3, removably attached to the frame I I by means of bolts orsimilar devices I 4. A gasket I is interposed between the cover plateand the frame ll so as to maintain a liquid tight joint while the coverplate is in position.

The ends of the casing H! are closed by end plates 20, 20a, which arewelded or otherwise secured to the adjacent end portionsof the casing l0and frame ll. Said plates 20 are provided with transverse slots 2| eacharranged to receive the open ends of tubular partition-like, heattransfer members H. Any desired number of these heat transfer members Hmay be employed, but for purposes of illustration three such members 23,24 and 25 are shown. The open end of each member 23 and 25 is extendedthrough a complemental slot of end plate 20, the open end of the unit 24being mounted in a corresponding slot of the end plate 20. Theheat-exchange members are welded or otherwise sealed to their respectiveend plates. From what has been said, it will be readily understood thatthe heat-exchange members 23, 24 and 25 extend longitudinally of thecasing in staggered relationship and that they also extend transverselythe full width of the casing l0. They are also in the form of flat tubeswhich function as transverse partitions, the top and bottom surfaces ofwhich provide substantial heating areas exposed to contact with thecirculating fluid medium to be heated. Thus they provide a tortuouschannel between the inlet a and the outlet b, through which the fluid tobe treated must travel in contact with a maximum area of heatingsurface.

The cover plate l3 while secured in operative position, will not engagethe adjacent edges of the tubular members 23, 24 and 25. The spacebetween the cover plate and the heat exchange members may be filled inany desired manner. For purposes of illustration, the cover plate isshown in Figure 3 as provided with a filler plate 26, positioned to bearagainst the adjacent portions of the heat exchange members 23, 24 ,and25 and thereby prevent leakage of fluid around them. In this arrangementthe gasket 15 extends around the edges of the filler plate. In lieu ofproviding the cover plate with a filler plate, the combined functions ofthe gasket and filler plate may be performed by enlarging the gasket, asshown in Figure 6. Referring to said figure, the gasket I5 is providedwith afiller portion I5 of the same material, secured thereto insuitable manner, as by rivets l5.

It is preferred to employ electric heater units 21 which are locatedwithin the tubular members. The outer ends of the units 21 are providedwith electrical terminals, the latter end being extended into terminalboxes 28, one at each end of the casing. Each of the end walls 20, 20*forms a wall of said terminal box. Said box is provided with aconnection 30 for passage of electric cables into the box, so as tobring the electrical circuit Wires to a position where they may beconnected to the terminals 3| of the heaters. These heater units may beeither fixedly secured within the partition tubes or they may beremovable, if desired. It is preferred to employ the removable typebecause of the advantage of easy replacement, if and when necessary. Onewall of each box or chamber 28 is provided with an opening 29, normallyclosed by a removable cover 33 sealed by a suitable gasket.

To maintain the heat exchange members in properly spaced relation withrespect to each other, a cross-member 32 is preferably welded to theclosed end of each tube 23, 24 and 25. This cross-member is narrow anddoes not interfere with or impede the proper flow of fluid around theclosed ends of the heat-exchange members, but it serves to center thelatter with relation to each other, and with respect to the top andbottom tubes it also serves to center the latter between the outercasing and the next tube. In lieu of the cross members 32, the tubes Hmay be supported by sectional channels 32*, 32 (see Fig. which aresuitably secured to the rear wall of the casing and to the filler piece26, respectively. It will be observed that in this instance, the fillerpiece is reduced in thickness to accommodate the thickness of thechannels 32 so that when the filler piece is in position it will line upwith the inside of frame I I. Under some conditions the channels 32 maybe omitted, in which event the filler piece will be of sufficientthickness to directly engage the adjacent edges of the tubes H, similarto the manner shown in Figure 4.

A very important factor in the heating of liquids is the velocity offlow 0f the liquid over the heat transfer surfaces. With many fluids itis necessary to greatly increase the velocity of flow over that whichwould be entirely satisfactory for other fluids. In addition to thegreat variation in fluids themselves, heaters are required to handlevarious quantities of a given fluid per unit of time. For instance, itmay be necessary to pump through a heater as little as 25 gallons perhour in one case, and in another installation to pump 100, 500 or even1,000 gallons per hour. For the larger volumes, ample velocity of flowcan usually be obtained, but for small volumes it is necessary to findsome way to increase the velocity of the flow. and the best method is toreduce the internal cross sectional area of the fluid passage of theheater. It is not feasible to make a new design for each desired rate offlow, and in many instances it would be impracticable to space the tubesclosely enough together to give a small enough cross sectional area ofthe fluid passage. To meet this condition, a series of baiiles 35attached to base members 35 are provided. The base members are slidinglyinsertable between adjacent pairs of tubes H, and if desired they may beremovably secured to the back wall 31 of the casing H] by bolts 35 asindicated in Figure 4. A similar assembly of baflles 38 can likewise beinserted into the fluid passages between the tubes 23, 24 and 25, byattaching the same to the filler plate 26. These baffles are arranged indefinitely spaced staggered relation to each other, and it is verysimple to design them for any desired area of cross section of fluidflow. Thus baffles of this type may be introduced to give any desiredvelocity of fluid flow through the heater passage. To change this flowit is only necessary to insert a different set of baiiles havingdifferent relative spacing. When cleaning the casing is 4 desired, thebaflles 38 will be removed with the filler plate 26, to which it isattached.

In operation, the heater units 21 are inserted in the respective heattransfer tubes 23, 2G and 25, and the desired sets of baffles and 38 areproperly located within the casing 10. The fluid to be heated is causedto enter the casing through the inlet a, and under suflicient pressureto cause it to flow back and forth longitudinally of the casing over thebaffles at the desired speed, and in contact with the heat transfersurfaces of said tubes 23, 24 and 25, until it passes out the outlet I).

The advantages of the invention will be readily understood by thoseskilled in the art to which it belongs. For instance, it will beobserved that a very simple and inexpensive form of heater is provided,whereby the fluid to be heated is caused to travel from the inlet to theoutlet in contact with staggered heat exchange units, in the form of amore or less flat stream, the velocity of flow of said fluid beingcontrolled by a simple arrangement of preselected baille plates providedfor that purpose.

A further important advantage is that the terminals for the electricheater units are so located that they are at all times isolated from thefluid which is being circulated through the heater, so that broken pipesor other leaks will not cause any damage to the electrical connections.It will also be observed that the heater may be conveniently cleaned, orexposed to inspection upon removing the cover plate, and without thenecessity of shutting off the electric power or disconnecting the heaterunits. In other words, it is possible to work around the interior of thecasing without danger of electric shock, although the control switch tothe circuits should be cut off so that the heater is not too hot to workon. However, there are times in cleaning out heavy or gummy materialswhen some heat should be temporarily applied in order to make thematerial fluid enough to remove. The present invention has the advantagethat the current may be turned on at any time for just the amount oftemperature rise inside the heating casing which may be required toproduce the desired fluidity of the refuse which is to be removed.

Having thus explained the nature of the invention and described anoperative manner of constructing and using the same, although withoutattempting to set forth all of the forms in which it may be made, or allof the forms of its use, what is claimed is:

1. A heating apparatus of the character described having in combinationa casing provided with an inlet and an outlet, a plurality of flat,flow-directing partitions each of a width extending transversely acrossthe casing from the front wall to the rear wall thereof and of a widthto contact with said walls, said partitions being shorter than thelength of the casing and extending longitudinally of the casing from therespective ends thereof and in alternate relationship, each partitionhaving one end extended through and sealed to and supported by an endwall of the casing, the other end thereof terminating at a positionadjacent to the other end wall of said casing, so as to provide acontinuous tortuous channel from the inlet to the outlet, baflleslocated between the respective partitions to control the velocity offlow of the fluid through said channel, and means for independentlyheating each of said partitions.

2. A heating apparatus of the character described having in combinationa casing provided with an inlet and an outlet, a plurality of flat,flow-directing partitions each of a width extending transversely acrossthe casing from the front wall to the rear wall thereof, said partitionsbeing shorter than the length of the casing and extending longitudinallyof the casing from the respective ends thereof and in alternaterelationship, each partition having one end sealed to and supported byan end wall of the casing, the

other end thereof terminating at a position adjacent to the other endwall of said casing, so as to provide a continuous tortuous channel fromthe inlet to the outlet, baffles extended in Opposite'directions fromsaid front and rear walls, respectively, and into the spaces between therespective partitions and in staggered relation ship so as to controlthe velocity of flow of the fluid through said channel, and means forindependently heating each of said partitions.

3. A heating apparatus of the character described having in combinationa casing provided with an inlet and an outlet, a plurality of fiat,flow-directing partitions each of a width extending transversely acrossthe casing from the front wall to the rear wall thereof, said partitionsbeing shorter than the length of the casing and extending longitudinallyof the casing from the respective ends thereof and in alternate relationship, each partition having an open end extended through and sealedto and supported by an end Wall of the casing, the other end thereofterminating at a position adjacent to the other end wall of said casing,so as to provide a continuous tortuous channel from the inlet to theoutlet, ballle members removably secured within the casing and extendingin opposite directions between the respective partitions and instaggered relationship with respect to each other, so as to control thevelocity of flow of fluid through said channel, and means insertablethrough the open ends of said partitions for independently heating eachof said partitions.

4. A heating apparatus of the character described having in combinationa casing provided with an inlet and an, outlet, a plurality of flat,flow-directing partitions each of a width extending transversely acrossthe casing from the front wall to the rear wall thereof, said partitionsbeing shorter than the length of the casing and alternately extendinglongitudinally of the casing from the respective end walls thereof, soas to provide a continuous tortuous channel from the inlet to theoutlet, each partition being in the form of a flat tube open at one end,the other end thereof being closed, the open end of each tube beingextended through and sealed to an end wall of the casing, the closed endof the tube terminating at a position adjacent the other end wall of thecasing, a removable front wall for said casing having a portion bearingagainst the adjacent edges of the partitions, closed chambers attachedto said end walls, and independent heating units insertable into therespective partitions through the open ends thereof and each having aterminal portion extending from the open end of its partition andthrough the adjacent end wall into said closed chambers.

5. A heating apparatus of the character described having in combinationa casing provided with an inlet and an outlet, a plurality of fiat,flow-directing partitions each of a width extending transversely acrossthe casing from the front Wall to the rear wall thereof, said partitionsbeing shorter than the length of the casing and alternately extendinglongitudinally of the casing from the respective end walls thereof, soas to provide a continuous tortuous channel from the inlet to theoutlet, each partition being in the form of a flat tube open at one end,the other end thereof being closed, the open end of each tube beingextended through and sealed to an end wall of the casing, the closed endof the tube terminating at ya position adjacent the other end wall ofthe casing, a removable front wall for said casing having a portionbearing against the adjacent edges of the partitions,velocityfiow-control bafiles removably attached to the rear wall of thecasing and extended transversely across the casing between saidpartitions, similar baffles secured to the removable front wall of thecasing and staggered with respect to the first mentioned bailles, andindependent heating elements located within the respective partitionsand extending through the respective end Walls of the casing,

6,. A heating apparatus of the character described comprising arectangular enclosure having an inlet and an outlet, fiat, parallelflowdirecting partitions located within said casing and arranged so asto close the space between the front and rear walls thereof, saidpartitions being shorter than the length of the casing and arranged inalternate relationship, each having one end sealed to an end wall of thechamber, so as to form a relatively shallow fiat walled tortuous passagefor fluid from the inlet to the outlet, a removable front wall for saidchamber having means for releasably engaging and sealing against theadjacent side of each of said partitions, sealed chambers connected withthe end walls of said casing, electrical heating elements forindependently heating said partitions and each having a terminal portionlocated in a sealed chamber, each chamber being provided with aremovable portion to give access to said terminals.

'7. A heating apparatus of the character described having in combinationa casing provided with oppositely disposed front and rear walls, aremovable cover member for said opening, said front wall having anopening therein, said casing having an inlet and an outlet, a plurality.of flat, flow-directing partitions each of a width extendingtransversely across the casing from the front wall to the rear wallthereof, said partitions be ing shorter than the length of the casingand extending longitudinally of the casing from the respective endsthereof and in alternate relationship, each partition having one endsealed to and supported by an end wall of the casing, the other endthereof terminating at a postion adjacent to the other end wall of saidcasing, so as to provide a continuous tortuous channel from the inlet tothe outlet, means for independently heating each of said partitions, anda filler member located within the opening of said front wall andinterposed between the cover member and said partitions, said fillermember being positioned to releasably engage and seal the adjacent edgesof the said partitions.

8. A heating apparatus of the character described having in combinationa casing provided with oppositely disposed front and rear walls, saidfront wall having an opening therein, said casing having an inlet and anoutlet, a plurality of fiat, flow-directing partitions each of a widthextending transversely across the casing from the front wall to the rearwall thereof, said partitions being shorter than the length of thecasing and extending longitudinally of the casing from the respectiveends thereof and in alternate relationship, each partition having oneend sealed to and supported by an end wall of the casing, the other endthereof terminating at a position adjacent to the other end wall of saidcasing, so as to provide a continuous tortuous channel from the inlet tothe outlet, means for independently heating each of said partitions, anda gasket extending over the open portion of the front wall andinterposed between the cover plate and said front wall, said gaskethaving a filler portion extended through said open portion, said fillermember being positioned to releasably engage and seal adjacent edges ofsaid partitions.

9. A heating apparatus of the character described having in combinationa casing provided with an inlet and an outlet, said casing having a rearwall and a removable front wall, a plurality of fiat, flow-directingpartitions each of a width extending transversely across the casing fromthe front wall to the rear wall thereof, said partitions being shorterthan the length of the casing and extended longitudinally of the casingfrom the respective ends thereof and in alternate relationship, eachpartition having an open end extended through and sealed to an end wallof the partition, the other end of each casing being closed and locatedat a position adjacent to the other wall of said casing, so as toprovide a continuous tortuous channel from the inlet to the outlet,means engaging the closed ends of said partitions for supporting saidpartitions in centered relation with respect to each other, and meansfor independently heating each of said partitions.

10. A heating apparatus of the character described having in combinationa casing provided with an inlet and an outlet, said casing having a rearwall and a removable front wall, a plurality of flat, flow-directingpartitions each of a width extending transversely across the casing fromthe front wall to the rear wall thereof, said partitions being shorterthan the length of the casing and extended longitudinally of the casingfrom the respective end thereof and in alternate relationship, eachpartition having the form of a flat tube with an open end extendedthrough and sealed to an end wall of the casing, the other end of eachcasing being closed and located at a position adjacent to the other wallof said casing, so as to provide a continuous tortuous channel from theinlet to the outlet, longitudinally disposed angle members supported bythe rear wall and releasably engaged with said partitions at one edgethereof, so as to support the latter in centered relation with respectto each other, means carried by said removable end wall for releasablyengaging the adjacent edges of said partitions, and means forindependently heating each of said partitions,

11. A heating apparatus of the character described having in combinationa casing provided with an inlet and an outlet, said casing having a rearwall and a removable front Wall, a plurality of fiat, flow-directingpartitions each of a width extending transversely across the casing fromthe front wall to the rear wall thereof, said partitions being shorterthan the length of the casing and extended longitudinally of the casingfrom the respective end thereof and in alternate relationship, eachpartition having an open end extended through and sealed to an end wallof the casing, the other end of each casing being closed and located ata position adjacent to the other wall of said casing, so as to provide acontinuous tortuous channel from the inlet to the outlet, longitudinallydisposed angle members supported by the rear wall and releasably engagedwith said partitions at one edge thereof, similar angle members carriedby the removable front wall and releasably engageable with the adjacentedges of said partitions, said angle members supporting said partitionsin centered relation with respect to each other, and means forindependently heating said partitions.

12. A heating apparatus of the character described having in combinationa casing provided with an inlet and an outlet, a removable front wallfor said casing, a plurality of flat flow-directing partitions each of awidth extending transversely across the casing from the said front wallto the rear wall thereof, each partition having one end supported by anend wall of the casing, the other end thereof terminating at a positionadjacent to but spaced from the other end wall of the casing so as toprovide a continuous tortuous channel from the inlet to the outlet,means on a wall of said casing coextensive with said partitions to sealthe same with said wall and to maintain said partitions in relativelyspaced positions within said casing, and means for independently heatingeach of said partitions.

13. A heating apparatus of the character described comprising arectangular casing having a rear wall and a removable front wall, aninlet and an outlet for said casing, fiat parallel flowdircctingpartitions projecting into said casing from the ends thereof, saidpartitions being shorter than the length of said casing and arranged inalternate relationship so as to form a flat walled tortuous passage forfluid from the inlet to the outlet, means on the rear wall of saidcasing to hold said partitions at all times in spaced relationship andliquid sealed with said rear wall, sealing means on said front wall toseal the latter with the casing and to seal the wall with the adjacentedges of said partitions, and electrical heating elements in saidpartitions.

LEE P. HYNES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,899,839 Von Ruden Feb. 28, 19331,820,458 Jenkins Aug. 25, 1931 1,226,849 Bookman May 22, 1917 1,288,069Longoria Dec. 17, 1918 1,847,489 Lonergan Mar. 1, 1932 945,904 BarrettJan. 11, 1910 1,985,830 Hynes Dec. 25, 1934

